West Genesee teen: Spitzer's three daughters caught as victim of his crime

Erica LaCombe, a junior at West Genesee High School, wrote the following essay for the VOICES>> page of The Post-Standard. Feel free to post a comment below.

The Associated Press, 2007New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer arrives for a morning church service in Albany, Jan. 1, 2007, with his family. From left are: daughter Jenna; wife Silda Wall Spitzer; and daughters Elyssa ; and Sarabeth.

Strike One: Your father cheated on your mother.

Strike 2: He did it with a prostitute

Strike 3: He's been doing it for years.

And the curve ball? He did it in front of the whole world.

These are the things that the three teenage daughters of Elliot Spitzer have been dealing with since March 10.

Elyssa, Sarabeth, and Jenna are the girls behind the curtain, the girls who voices haven't been heard.

The world knows about the scandal and understands what has happened. We've read, seen or heard all the news on it. We've seen Saturday Night Live parody it.

Ask any of those girls, however, and they probably don't think it's old news.

I can't say that I would know what that felt like, having a father completely betray you and the rest of your family. I don't know the pain, the agony, even the guilt that the three daughters have gone through.

I never want to know.

My friends and I spent almost a whole day making fun of Spitzer. He was an easy target, and we ripped him apart. By the time we were through, the name of Spitzer was beyond tarnished.

Speaking with another friend later, we realized something: Spitzer is someone's dad. We didn't realize that while we made fun of him. We, along with the rest of the nation, thought it was hilarious that he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

What if that was my dad? What if that was my best friend's dad? That thought rips at me as I watch a segment of Jon Stewart, or I listen to my radio station do a parody of the song "Love Potion Number Nine" with the words "Client Number Nine."

It's hard to imagine what the daughters are going through. Most Americans just see a sex scandal. They may even think it's a victimless crime.

Spitzer's daughters are the true innocent victims. They have to go around for the rest of their lives hearing things like, "Oh, you're Sarabeth Spitzer? Wasn't your dad ...?"